Thai PM Abhisit Hits Back Over House Absences

[webfact]

Abhisit hits back over House absences

By NERISA NERYKHIEW

THE NATION

Coalition and opposition lawmakers should not have used the forthcoming House dissolution as an excuse for not attending legislative sessions, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.

"The timetable for House dissolution was not the reason for the low attendance at the House sessions, since MPs, including myself, were obliged to deal with natural calamities in the last four days," he said.

Abhisit said House Speaker Chai Chidchob was too harsh for blaming him for the collapse of House sessions due to lack of quorum for three consecutive days.

Reacting to Abhisit's remarks, Chai quipped that the people should act as monitors in charge of rounding up truant MPs and returning them to their workplace.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaug-suban said he saw no link between House dissolution and the attendance records of parliamentarians.

The early poll will show democracy at work by returning the mandate to the people. MPs should be held accountable for the lack of quorum because they have not been doing their jobs, he said.

The prime minister has made it clear for more than two months about the early poll but the collapse of the House session just happened this week, he added.

Democrat MP Boonyod Sooktinthai said the attendance records from Tuesday to Thursday showed that 26 coalition MPs and 175 opposition MPs failed to show for the quorum count.

Among coalition members reported absent were 14 from the Bhum Jai Thai Party, seven from Chart Thai Pattana, two each from the Ruam Chart Pattana and Social Action parties and one from the Matubhum Party, he said. Some Democrats took a leave of absence but none were absent for three consecutive days, he added. The opposition Pheu Thai Party has 188 House seats and 175 of its MPs did not appear for the quorum count for the past three days, he said.

-- The Nation 2011-04-02

[asiawatcher]

"... Pheu Thai Party has 188 House seats and 175 of its MPs did not appear ..."

Kinda tells you how much interest the PTP have in the country.

[hammered]

Abhisit is right on this. Utterly disgusting that any MP would use an upcoming disolution as reason to do nothing for the country

[hyperdimension]

"... Pheu Thai Party has 188 House seats and 175 of its MPs did not appear ..."

Kinda tells you how much interest the PTP have in the country.

The Democrats should be using this and other points as evidence that Pheu Thai are not fit for running the country and that people should therefore not vote for them in the upcoming election. Abhisit has been too nice and diplomatic against the packs of rats for too long.